EU Climate Action in the Broad Framework of Sustainable Development Policies

Författare

Petra Tschakert
Lennart Olsson

Summary, in English

The linkages between climate change and sustainable development are multiple and profound. Nonetheless,

their respective policy regimes have so far evolved along parallel, if not competing, paths. What is lacking to date

is a detailed conceptual understanding of the practicability of their integration through cross-sectoral policies

and programmes. We propose a synergistic adaptive capacity (SAC) framework that places adaptive capacity and

equity at the centre of current policy debates. This framework, based on social vulnerability as a linking element

between climate change adaptation and poverty reduction, goes beyond current attempts to ‘mainstream’ adaptation

and mitigation into national development priorities. We outline guidelines on how to operationalize the SAC

framework and, at the end, define the role of the EU in promoting and implementing these synergies within the

post-2012 climate policy regime.

Avdelning/ar